In a futuristic New York City, where the Tower, a vast
building housing millions of people and the highest technology known to mankind
dominates the NYC skyline, five teenagers with dirty secrets do everything to
keep them hidden. This book follows Avery Fuller, a girl who is genetically
perfect, but in love with someone she can never be with, Eris Dodd-Ranson, a
girl who used to be at the very top but was sent straight to the bottom after a
crumbling betreyal and a new discovery, Leda Cole, a girl obsessed with her
sister;s best friend and struggling with her addiction to a drug that helped
her fit in, Rylin Myers, a girl who will do anything to survive including get
trapped in the web of lies that are the residents of the Tower's top floors,
and finally Watt Bakradi, a hacker who has a secret weapon that if anyone knew
about it, he would definatley get sent to jail. These teens don't realize how
close they are to the ground before they start to fall.
Anyone who loves upper class gossip and futuristic
technology-governed worlds should read this book. A very good read, I never
felt for a second that I was bored and the worldbuilding was superb- everything
on why the world functioned the way it did made sense and I never felt any
confusion over the futuristic aspect. This book handles important issues very
well like addiction, adultury, and social pressure. Two main quibles.
1. At the end, the book played on a major lesbian stereotype
which was very dissapointing, considering the casual representation started out
very well- a girl moved, met another girl, and fell in love without all of the
tragic homophobic backstory angst that is a very popular trope.
2. Setting changes from the tower to the outside world were
a bit clunky since so much of what readers see in the novel is in the tower
including "outdoor things" so where the charecters are in the outside
world can get a bit confusing.
Definatley a book for more mature readers because of the
content but a good read and an excellent addition to any YA lovers shelf.
Reviewed by Claire Skye, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
